Short-term regulation of renal Na-K-ATPase activity: physiological relevance and cellular mechanisms

Sodium-potassium-activated adenosinetriphosphatase (Na-K-ATPase; the Na:K pump), located at the basolateral domain of epithelial cells, provides the driving force for active sodium and potassium translocation and for the secondary active transport of other solutes across the renal tubules. Short-term regulation of renal Na-K-ATPase activity (i.e., not reflecting changes in its biosynthesis rate) provides an important mechanism of modulating tubule transport and thus the final Na and K urinary excretion. Recent studies have provided abundant evidence that such regulation is effected by complex functional networks that are specific for different nephron segments and involve distinct and often mutually interacting intracellular signal transduction pathways. The effects of hormones and autacoids linked to alterations in cell adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate and consequently of protein kinase A, in the levels and distribution of protein kinase C, or in the generation of various eicosanoids provide examples of rapid Na:K pump activity modulation by the mechanisms mentioned above. In this review we assess the roles of specific intracellular messengers and the manner in which they, and especially protein kinases, might interact with the pump in the short-term regulation of its activity; also, we examine the emerging evidence supporting the participation of the cytoskeleton in this process.